North Carolina legal guides for the decisions that matter.
Practical explanations from a Huntersville law firm serving families, employees, businesses, drivers, and neighbors across Lake Norman. Search the full library, choose a topic, or begin with a featured guide.
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Divorce & Family LawDivorce, alimony, agreements, property division, and protective orders.Find family-law guides →
Custody & Child SupportParenting schedules, decision-making, support, relocation, and enforcement.Find custody guides →
DWI & TrafficSpeeding tickets, license consequences, testing, evidence, and DWI defense.Find driving guides →
Employment LawDiscrimination, retaliation, wages, leave, investigations, Garrity, and the EEOC.Find workplace guides →
Estate PlanningWills, trusts, powers of attorney, health-care directives, and legacy planning.Find planning guides →
Civil Matters & Local LifeContracts, defamation, civil disputes, mediation, and the Lake Norman community.Find civil guides →
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CHILD CUSTODYWho decides where a child goes to school?School choice, joint legal custody, and resolving parental disagreement.Read the guide 
PARENTINGHow joint legal custody decisions are madeSchool, medical care, therapy, activities, and other major decisions.Read the guide 
SEPARATIONCan a separation agreement be changed?Understand modification, enforcement, consent, and court-order distinctions.Read the guide 
PROTECTIVE ORDERSWhat a court must find in a DVPO caseA practical case-law guide to evidence, findings, and protective orders.Read the guide 
PROPERTY DIVISIONStipulations and equitable distributionHow agreements and trial positions can shape a North Carolina property case.Read the guide 
CHILD SUPPORTSelf-employment income and child supportDepreciation, business income, documentation, and support calculations.Read the guide 
ALIMONYAlimony overpayments and reimbursementWhat a recent appellate decision teaches about payments and remedies.Read the guide 
CIVIL LAWDefamation in North CarolinaA broad overview of reputational harm, defenses, and civil claims.Read the guide
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These subject boxes collect useful starting points from the Adkins Law archive. Open an article now, view every result in that topic, or continue to the complete chronological archive below.
Divorce & Separation
Agreements, property division, complex assets, and practical steps before and after separation.
Custody & Parenting
Decision-making, parenting schedules, school issues, modification, and third-party custody questions.
Support & Alimony
Income, self-employment, enforcement, contempt, overpayments, and changing financial circumstances.
DWI & Traffic
Stops, checkpoints, breath and blood testing, license consequences, speeding tickets, and defense.
Employment & Public Servants
Discrimination, retaliation, pay, leave, internal investigations, EEOC charges, and employee rights.
Wills, Trusts & Estates
Wills, powers of attorney, health-care directives, trusts, beneficiaries, and practical legacy planning.
Civil Litigation
Contracts, reputation, property disputes, statutory protections, and resolution through litigation or mediation.
Huntersville & Lake Norman
Local history, community change, and legal issues affecting the place Adkins Law calls home.
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The newest resources appear first. Use the search above to find a specific issue, or move through the archive to reach all 499 published articles.
I got a Traffic Ticket…Now What??
Did you get a traffic ticket in Mecklenburg County recently? With the toll road construction happening on I-77, it isn't hard to receive a citation. The construction has caused traffic problems in the area. In order to avoid the traffic problems, many people have made illegal turns, u-turns, red light, and stop sign violations.It's quite ...
History of Alimony in North Carolina
The history of spousal support (and child support), also called alimony or maintenance, can be traced back to the Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian code of law dated back to 1754 BC, that declares that a man must provide sustenance to a woman who has borne him children. The Code provides that "If a man ...
What is a Premarital Agreement?
A premarital agreement, also known as a prenuptial agreement or prenup, is a written contract created by a (sometimes engaged) couple before they are set to be married. The contract typically outlines all of the property owned by each person; this can include cars, stock accounts, bank accounts, etc.. All items are specified in the ...
Can I get Alimony in North Carolina? What if My Spouse Cheated on Me?
In North Carolina, infidelity is one of the nine acts of marital misconduct defined under N.C.G.S. § 50-16.1A listed as "illicit sexual behavior." North Carolina defines illicit sexual behavior as "acts of sexual or deviate sexual intercourse, deviate sexual acts, or sexual acts defined in G.S. 14-27.20(4) [criminal sexual offenses], voluntarily engaged in by a ...
Office Closure July 5th, 2019
Our Office will be closed today July 5th but will reopen and go back to regular business hours on July 8th. Contact us at [email protected] or text us at 704-231-5762 for assistance if needed.
How Do I File for Child Custody?
Often times, when parents separate, they are able to agree to a parenting arrangement that is in their child's best interests and works well for the parents. In many cases, flexible schedules between the parents work well without conflict until the child is an adult. This is, however, not always the case.In situations where parents ...
My ex is being rude and uncooperative. How can I modify our custody arrangement?
North Carolina General Statute § 50-13.7 states that "[A]n order of a court of this State for custody of a minor child may be modified or vacated at any time, upon motion in the cause and a showing of changed circumstances by either party or anyone interested." NCGS 50-13.7 states that an order of a ...
Healthcare Power of Attorney vs. Living Will
A living willis a legal document that guides your doctors, and health care agents (selected by you) regarding your wishes for medical treatment in the following situations:if you are terminally illif you are in a comaif you are in the late stages of dementia/otherwise near the end of lifeThe living will gives you the ability ...
What Constitutes Cohabitation to Terminate Alimony in North Carolina?
Depending on the ruling of the court, analimonyorder can be for a set number of years or even life. In order to modify spousal support, whether that be alimony or post-separation support, significant changes are normally necessary. The termination of an alimony order is automatic upon the death of either party, remarriage of the dependent ...
